Products · Pattern or everyday thing
App install prompts
Raised as a usability problem by 26 people on Hacker News over 15 years (2012–2026), in 21 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Repeated download popups interrupt reading and push installsUnreviewed
20122026- Repeated prompts to install the app keep interrupting the user2026-04-06
- Pop-ups push app downloads and "No, thanks" doesn't dismiss them2025-07-26
- Repeated popups nagging users to download the app and join email lists2023-07-24
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 26 complaints
- Repeated prompts to install the app keep interrupting the user2026-04-06
- Pop-ups push app downloads and "No, thanks" doesn't dismiss them2025-07-26
- Repeated popups nagging users to download the app and join email lists2023-07-24
- Installs fail for a non-negligible percent of customers outside the Store2023-05-24
- App Installer is too buggy to rely on, so a third-party installer replaces it2023-05-24
- Prompts offer 'Not Yet' instead of a permanent 'Never show again' option2023-04-11
- Popups asking to install an app block content before the reader sees anything2022-03-28
- Forced to install an app just to browse sites on a phone2022-01-28
- Sites repeatedly pop up asking visitors to install their app on every visit2021-05-31
- Full-screen popovers and fixed headers reappear on every visit after being dismissed2019-01-29
- Popups overlay the website pushing people to download the app2016-08-05
- Full-page content-blocking app install requests obstruct reading thin-content sites2016-01-23
- Interstitials are an annoyance users must click away to reach content2015-09-04
- Full-page app install interstitials are annoying to people browsing mobile sites2015-09-02
- Full-page app install ads block using the mobile website2015-08-13
- The close X on the app banner is tiny, hard to tap2015-08-11
- Repeatedly shown app download prompts when opening websites, even on repeat visits2015-02-10
- Installing apps requires many steps, long passwords, and careful evaluation before starting2014-10-23
- Install prompt appears before user has seen the site, forcing dismissal2014-04-08
- Landing pages push visitors to download a native app instead of using the web2013-12-04
- Forced app download popups appear on desktop and mobile, interrupting browsing2013-05-12
- Has to dismiss the app install prompt every time on mobile web2012-12-30
- Clicking 'No thanks' on app prompt redirects to homepage instead of the intended page2012-12-30
- Install prompt appears even when app is installed, with no handoff to the app2012-12-30
- Full-screen app prompts block the article so the user cannot read the content2012-12-30
- Repeated app download popups interrupt reading and push users toward installing the app2012-10-08